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The Adelaide class FFGs were a six-strong class guided missile frigates constructed in Australia and the United States of America for service in the Royal Australian Navy.

The class is based on the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, but modified for Australian requirements. The first four vessels were built in the United States, while the other two were constructed in Australia.

The first ship, HMAS Adelaide (01) commissioned in 1980, followed by Canberra (02) in 1981, Sydney (03) in 1983 and Darwin (04) in 1984, all built at the Todd Shipbuilding company in the US. The decision was made to build two further ships of the class, Melbourne (05) and Newcastle (06) in Australia, being completed by Amecon, later Tenix in Melbourne.

The ships underwent numerous upgrades, including being lengthened at the stern to operat the Sea Hawk helicopter and several ships of the class undergoing the FFG Upgrade Program, fitting amongst other improvements a six cell VLS mount in the bow to operate 24 quadpacked VL Sea Sparrow anti aircraft missiles.

The class have operated in the Persian Gulf during teh First and Second Gulf Wars, in peacekeeping patrols in the Persian Gulf, anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa, the Interfet intervention in East Timor and innumerable exercises throughout their service lives, including several round the world cruises.

The class have begun to pay off, with Canberra decomissioning in 2005, Adelaide in 2008, Sydney in 2015 and Darwin in 2017, while Newcastle and Melbourne remain in active service.

Naturally they are popular models with our members, with all of them having been built or building. ...

HMAS Queenborough was a Q-class destroyer and later anti-submarine frigate that served in the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

The sixth RN ship to be named after the town of Queenborough in Kent, Queenborough's WW2 service included the Arctic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific theatres, receiving the Battle Honours "Arctic 1942–43", "Sicily 1943", "Salerno 1943", "Mediterranean 1943", and "Okinawa 1945"

Following service in WW2 Queenborough was transferred on loan to the RAN in exchange for an N-class destroyer, then given to Australia as a gift in 1950.

Queenborough was converted to an anti-submarine frigate, and served with the RAN until 1966. This model of Queenbrough, or 'Queen B' as she was known to her crew, represents her from that period and was built by Task Force 72 member Geoff.

The conversion started with the removal of the ship's entire armament, the entire superstructure was cut off, and replaced with a larger, aluminium one. The quality of accommodation was improved, fuel stowage was reduced, in turn cutting the ship's range from 4,680 nautical miles at 20 knots to 4,040 nautical miles at 16 knots

The bridge was enclosed, and a dedicated operations room was installed, in order to coordinate the greater quantity and type of data collected by the ship's new and more modern sensors.

Queenborough was fitted with new guns: a twin 4 inch high angle/low angle gun aft of the superstructure, and a twin 40 mm Bofors gun forward of the bridge. The reduction in gun armament was justified by the inclusion of two specialist Limbo anti-submarine mortars.

The conversion resulted in a 315-ton increase in standard displacement. The ship's draught increased from 9.5 feet to 15.5 feet. Queenborough and her sister ships Quadrant and Quickmatch were formed as the 1st Australian Frigate Squadron.

During this time, Queenborough was deployed to the Far East Strategic Reserve on multiple occasions, participated in numerous fleet exercises, and took on a partial training role. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve, but reactivated in 1969 as a training ship.

Queenborough remained in service for another three years before decommissioning in 1972 and being scrapped in Hong Kong in 1975. ...

An old shot of an Oliver Hazard Perry class FFG and a Knox class FF. Saying hello to Ralph from the Great Northern Shipyard out of Portland Oregon by way of Ennis Montana. Some International promotional work here. Mark. ...